Engine



J. H. DODDS.

ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2. 191a.

Fig.

Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

3 SHEE SHEET 1.

wilrzcssas F fnwnlor ym ll KAI/M 1. H. DODDSJ ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED mp2. mg.

1,314,858. I PatentcdSept. 2,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I. H. DODDS.

ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-2. I9IB- Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' Jamar/Z0 odd glhvzntoz I UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. DODDS, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD TO EDWARDT. MOCALL, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

Appllcati m filed April 2, 1918. Serial No. 226,191.

subject of the King of England, residing at' St. Paul, in the county ofRamsey and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Engine, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The device forming the subject matter of this application isv an engine,and one object is to provide novel means whereby water vapor issuperheated and discharged into a turbine. Another object of theinvention is to provide novel means whereby the vapor is forced. to theheating means. A still further object of the invention is to providenovel means for supplying liquid fuel and air under pressure to themechanism whereby the water vapor is superheated.

Within the scope of what is claimed, changes falling within the skill'ofa mechanic. may be resorted to, without placing the utility of thedevice in jeopardy or departing from the spirit of the invention.-

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows in side elevation, an engineconstructed inaccordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a cross sectionon the line WW of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end elevation wherein parts arebroken away; Fig. 4 is an elevation showing the main shaft and partscarried thereby; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section; Fig. 6! is a crosssection on the line Y-Y of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a cross section on the lineZ-Z of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a top plan, the line X-X indicating the cuttingplane on which Fig. 5 is taken; Fig. 9 is a fragmental elevation showinga portion of the moistening means; Fig. 10 is a fragment-a1 sectiontaken through the fuel discharge means; Fig. 11 is a sectional detail,enlarged from Fig. 5 and disclosing one of the valves;

Fig. 12 1s a cross section on the line 12-12 of Fig. 11.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes a tubular casing provided withinwardly extended flanges 5 and 5'. A head 2 is connected to the flange5 by bolts 4, a head 3 being connected'to the flange 5' by bolts 4. Theheads 2 and 3 are supplied with sup-. porting brackets 8 having feet 6and 7. The head 2 includes an exterior hub 9 which may be chambered asat 9', for cooling purposes. The hub 9 is recessed to form a bearing 8'.

The numeral 10' designates a tubular connection having a flange 11secured to the head 3 the numeral 10 marking a hand hole cover on theconnection, and serving to give access to a valve 27, herelnaftermentioned. The tubular connection '10 is providedwith a flange 11carryinga bearing 12, there being an exhaust port 12' at the top of theconnec t1on..

a casing 17, and serving to retain a water jacket ring 14 which isinterposed between the flange 11 and one end of the casing 17.Intermediate its ends, the casing 17 is supplied with an annularpartition 18, forming, within the casing, pump chambers 65 and 66. Awater jacket ring 15 is secured by bolts 16 to the outer end of thecasing 17, the bolts retaining a head 16. Shafts 19 and 19' are mountedto rock in the upper portion of the casing 17 and are disposed parallelto the axis of the casing. These shafts will be alluded to hereinafter.The head 16 is provided with a sup-porting foot 22.

The head 16 includes a bearing 21, .and in the bearings 21 and 12, amain shaft 23 is journaled, the inner end of the shaft having a bore 24,communicating with lateral openings 25 and 26 formed partly in the shaftand partly in members which will be alluded to hereinafter. On the innerend of the shaft 23 is a flange 28. A valve 27 is seated in the end ofthe bore 24. The flange 28 is counter-bored and rotates in one end ofthe tubular connection 10, the counter-bore of the flange receiving aninwardly extended flange 29 on one end of a hollow shaft 30', the flange29 of the shaft 30' being bolted to the flange 28 of the shaft 23, sothat these parts may rotate together. The shaft 30 is journaled at oneend in the bearingS which is fashioned in the hub 9 of the head 2. Thatend of the shaft 30' which is adjacent to the bearing 8 is provided witha plurality of openings 29' which permit the passage of an actuatingfluid into one of two turbines, hereinafter described. As shown in Fig.4, the shaft 30' may carry a hand hole cover 29. giving access to thevalve 27.

Two turbines are carried by the hollow shaft 30, the turbines includingend members 30 and 32, individual to the turbines, and an intermediatemember 31, common to both turbines. The end member 30 and theintermediate member 31 are connected by curved blades 34 and 33, the endmember 32 and the intermediate member 31 being connected by curvedblades 35 and. 36, the

The flange 11' forms one head of a pump, the flange being connected bybolts 13, with blades 35 and 36 being oppositely inclined with respect'tofthe'blades'33 and 34. The.

inner endsoftheblades 33 are spaced from the hollow shaft so asto-efl'ect a distribution of the actuating fluid when the latter asses:through the openings 29' of the shaf t 30'finto the turbine of whichthe blades 33 and 34 form a part. The inner ends of the blades 35- ofthe other turbine are spaced in a similar way. from theshaft 30', itbeing observed that. the shaft 30'=. has no openings adjacent to theinner ends of the blades 35 and corresponding to the openings 29'. Sincethe inner ends of the blades 35 are spaced, as aforesaid, fromthe shaft30', the exhaust may pass through an opening 37 1n the end'membler32'andin the head 3, lnto the tubular connection 'lo', and out throughthe exhaust-opening .12'-.. The outer ends of the blades 34 carry anannular coverlng 38, closing one "turbine. at its periphery. Theintermediate member 31 is spaced peripherally from the casing 1, asshown at 39, the blades 36 being spaced as indicated at 40, from thecasing 1. 'The outer ends of the blades 33 are spaced at 34' from theinner ends of the blades 34, and as indicated at 35', the outer ends ofthe blades35 are spaced from the innerends of the blades 36, the spacingat 34 and at 35' servingto effeet a distribution of the actuating fluidwithin the turbines. r i

The numeral 42 designates a bearing carried by a flange 41- "secured bybolts 41 to the hub 9, the flange'41' supportinga flue 50. Within theflue' 50 is located an air chamber 52 communicating with a nozzle 54,

. the numeral 51 'designatlng a torch body carrying a nozzle '53, thenozzles being disosed in convergingrelation. The flow of.

uel into the torch 51"is controlled by a needle valve. 55 cooperatingwith a seat 55 in the torch body. The fuel traverses a fuel supply pipe56 communicating with an oil chamber 52' in the torch body' 51 and withthe nozzle 53, by way ofthejseat 55. The pipe 56 carries a cup, 56-adapted to hold a priming charge whereby the. oil; in the chamber 52'may be heated at thet'ime. the engine is started. 'A plug 56 .mo'u'ntedin the lower portion of thetorchbody .51, gives access to the chamber 52,-s'o that the gas. in the chamber may be ignitedg-when, the engine isstarted. Thereqis a checkwvalve 56', and a valve 57'--under the" controlof an operator, in the pipe 56, A pipe 57 communicates with thexair'chamber'52, la check valve 58 and a hand valve 59being'interposed in thepipe 57. f The'pipe'i-57 is'adapted to convey air to the-nozzle- 54,whereas the pi con eys fueljto the-nozzle '53, a flame eing producedTat-the free-ends of the nozzles 53 and 54, 'withi n a tube43 locatedwithin the tubular shaft 30? and speed therefrom, one end of thetube'f43 being mounted in the part receive the arms 68 and 68.

42, and the other end of the tube carrying a closure plug 44. Said otherend of the tube 43 is carried by a support 45 having feet 46 secured tothe hollow shaft 30, the support, therefore, rotating with the shaft 30and rotating in the end of the tube 43 The feet 46 are spaced and form aspider which permits watervapor to pass, in a way to be describedhereinafter,"from the bore 24 of the shaft 23, past the valve 27, intothe space between the tube 43 and the tubular shaft 30', and into theturbine 3334 by way of the openings 29 in the shaft.30'. :The support 45has an opening 47 in which slides a I stem 48 carrying the valve 27, thevalve being seated against the shaft 23 at one end of .the bore 24,under the action of a compression spring 49 surrounding a portion of thestem and abutting against the valve and the support.

A wing 72 operates in the chamber anda wing 73 operates in the chamberv66, the wings being located on opposite sides 'of the partition 18. Thewings 72 and 73 are secured to the shaft 23 by keys, as indicated inFig. 7, one end of the wing 72 being journaled 1n the partition 18, asFig. 5 will disclose. The wing 72 carries a'cam 60, the wing 7 3carrying a cam 61, as indicated in Fig. 4. There is a chamber 63 in thecam 60, in communication with the opening 26 in the shaft 23, the cam 61having a chamber 62 communicating with the opening 25 in the shaft 23.Communication is established between the chamber 62 and the chamber 66by valves 64 in the cam 61, communication being established betweenthechamloer 63 and the chamber 65, by similar valves in the cam 60 Airis admitted into thechamber '65 by means of air inlets 67, air beingadmitted into the chamber 66 by inlets 67, the

inlets being covered with wire netting, shown at 100, in order toexclude foreign matter. Arms 68 and 69 are secured by screws 70 70 tothe shaft 19, arms 68' and 69' being shaft 19. As shown at 71 the rings14 and 15 are slotted to receive thearms 69 and 69', the casing 17 beingsimilarly slotted to A gate 70 is carried by the arms 68 and 69 and iscurved on an arc of which the shaft 19 is a center, the gate operatingin a slot in the casing 17 and coacting with the cam 60. A similar gate71 is carried "by the arms 68' and 69 and coiiperates with the cam 61.The ring secured by a like means to the 15 is providedwith a recess 74,the base of operate beneath the ends of the arms 69 and '69 carried,respectively, by the' shafts 19 and 19'. The inner ends of the gates 70and 71 are rounded as shown at 70 so as to 00- air passes through thevalves 64 in the cam 60 into the chamber 63. Air enters the inlets 71and passes into the chamber 66. Here, the air is compressed between thecam 61 and the gate 71, the air passing through the valves 64 in the cam61 into the chamber 62. When the cams 60 and 61 encounter the respectivegates 70 and 71, the gates will be raised, the arms 68 and 69' rockingthe shaft 19 andthe arms 68 and 69 rocking the shaft 19. I

The water jacket rings 14 and 15 carry means for operating the wedges 73' with respect to the arms 69 and 69', the wedges 73' havinglongitudinal slots 75, receiving bolts 74, holding the wedges on thebases of the recesses 74 in the rings 14 and 15. The wedges 7 3' haveextensions, shown in Fig. 3 at 76, and pivoted at 77 to links 7 8'pivoted at 80 to crank arms 79 on a shaft 81 mounted to rock in lugs8282' on the rings 14 and 15 and on the members 11' and 16, the shaftbeing controlled by a centrally disposed lever 83 which "is secured tothe shaft; It Wlll be seen that when the shaft 81 is rocked by means ofthe lever 83 the wedges 73' will be advanced and retracted with respectto the arms 69 and 69', and since both these arms and the gates 70-71are connected to the respective shafts 19 and 19", the space between thegates and the cams -61 may be adjusted; I In this way, the efficiency ofthe pumping mechanism may be regulated, and

the engine may be stopped, since obviously,

there will be a strong compression, for mstance, between the cam 60 andthe gate 70 if the end of the gate is in contact with the parts 72 and60, whereas, the compression will be decreased, if the gate 70 is spacedslightly from the part 7 2, by the action of -0 the corresponding wedge7 3' and the arm 69.

Helical s rings 84 and 84 are mounted on the top of t e casing 17 andare held in place by keepers 85 and 85 fastened to the casing by screws86 and 86'. The rear ends of the sprin 84 and 84 engage the casing 17.The orward end of the spring 84 bears on a rod 87 which connects thearms 69 and 68, the'forward end of the spring 84' bearing on a rod 87'which connects the forward ends of the arms 68' and 69'. The forwardends of the springs 84 and 84' serve to thrust the gates 70 and 71inwardly, to cause them to coiiperate, res tively, with the wing and cammembers 2 and 73.

A pi 88 extends above the o ings or inlets 6 "and contains a hand v ve89, the

horizontal portion of the pipe 88 having perforations 102 whichdischarge on the screens 100 of the inlets 67', water traversing thepipe 88 and being delivered on the said screens so as to moisten the airwhich asses into the chamber 66 by way of the in ets 67 and enters thechamber 62. The screens in front of the inlets 67 are not wet andconsequently the air which passes into the chamber and from thence intothe chamber 63 is in a dry condition. Surplus water from the pipe 88 isreceived in a trough 90 and is carried away by a drain ipe 90.

A tank 91 is located beneath t e pumping mechanism and is adapted tostore liquid fuel of any kind. A portion of the dry air which iscompressed in the chamber 65 is conveyed by a pipe 92, a T 95, and bythe pipe 57, to the air chamber 52 and to the air nozzle 54. From the T95, a pipe leads to the tank 91, and thus air ressure is supplied to thetank above the liquid fuel therein. Fuel leaves the tank 91, under airpressure by an L 95 and by the pipe 56 and thus is carried to the fuelchamber 52' and to the nozzle 53. In the pipe 92,, a check valve 93 anda hand valve 94 are interposed.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings,the operation of the device as now set forth, will be understood. Atstarting, the shaft 23 and the shaft 30', along with the turbines andother parts are rotated by hand, or by starters of the type commonlyused in internal combustion engines. A slight pressure is thuscreated'in the fuel tank 91, oil being supplied to the chamber 52'through the pipe 56, and

the gas which has been created in the chamber 52' is ignited. The needlevalve 55 is adjusted to regulate the supply of fuel, and a. hot flame isproduced within the tube 43 at the discharge ends of the nozzles 53 and'54, the tube being heated, and the products of combustion leaving byway ofthe stack 50.

It has been pointed out hereinbefore that air is compressed in thechambers 62 and 63, a portion of the air, which has passed through theinlets 67, being moistened. The vapor thus produced enters the bore 24of the shaft 23, passes the valve 27 under the suction of the turbine3433 and enters the s ace between the tube 43 and the hollow s aft 30'.When the vapor comes into contact with the hi hly heated tube 43, thevapor is superheate and converted rapidly into steam, pressure beingtransmitted to the blades 33 and 34 of one turbine through the openings29. Power thus is transmitted to the shaft 30' and to the shaft 23., Thesteam, 'having done its work, traverses the openin 39 and the space 40,and, being impelled y the blades 35 and 36 of the right hand rotor inFig. 5, leaves by way of the opening 37, the tubular connection 10 and vI second part- 0 chargingbetween'the tube and the shaft;

and means pump. a

2. In an engine, a casing having an ex haust port; first and secondturbines in the casing and communicating at their peripheries, theturbines having oppositely inclined blades,the second turbinedischarging through the exhaust port; a hollow shaft carrying theturbines and discharging into the first turbine; a heating means in thehollow shaft- 'a' pump operatively connected with. the shaft anddischarging between the heating means and the shaft; and means forsupplying water vapor to the pump. I

3. In an engine,-a turbine; a hollow shaft carrying theturbine anddischarging therefor supplying water vaporto the into; a tube within thehollow. shaft; an air conduit-and a fuel conduit discharging into a thetube; a fuel tankwherewith the fuel conduit-communicates; a pumpoperatively eonnect'ed'with the shaft and comprising first andsecondparts, the first part discharging into the-air conduit and the fueltank, and the second part discharging into theshaft about thetube; meansforsu-pplying terior to the tube misses dry air-:to the first part ofthe pump; and

-means. for supplying water vapor to the g the pump. v 4. 'In an engine,a turbine; a hollow shaft carrying the turbine and dischargingthereinto; a pump shaft connected with the hollow shaft and having abore communicating with the hollow shaft; a support within the hollowshaft and secured thereto; a valve mounted on the support and seated inthe bore ofthe pump shaft; a tube mounted at one end on the support;means for heating the tube; a pump on the pump shaft and discharginginto the space between the tube and the shaft, by way of the bore andthe valve; andmeans for supplying water vapor to the pump. v 5. In anengine, a, turbine; a hollow shaft carrying the turbine and dischargingthereinto; a fixed tube within the shaft; means for heating the tubeinternally' and means e shaft ex- 1 for supplying water vapor to t 6. Inan englne,"a turbine; a hollow shaft carrying the turbine anddischarging there into' a fixed tube within the shaftmeans for heating.the tube Internally; and means Q driven by the shaft for forcing waterinto the shaft exterior to the tube.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as I inpresence Of'tWOwitnesses. I v p '3 Y JAMES H. DODDS;v I Witnesses; I

'Enwm SNODGRASS, Josnrnmn K.'Donrnmz.

my own I have hereto aflixed my signature

